


iNhuMAn INfAtuaTIoN

by bubbleteahime



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-19
Updated: 2015-09-19
Packaged: 2018-04-21 12:58:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4829957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bubbleteahime/pseuds/bubbleteahime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Well, go on then! Disassemble me for my ‘defects’! Get it over and done with!"</p><p>But he couldn’t.</p>
            </blockquote>





	iNhuMAn INfAtuaTIoN

**Author's Note:**

> ✿ human names used:
> 
> Japan- Kiku Honda
> 
> Taiwan- Xiao-Mei “Mei” Lin
> 
> China- Yao Wang

Honda Kiku was, without a doubt, one of the most brilliant engineers in the world at the age of 28. He was a leading figure in the technology of robots and androids. After successfully creating his own android model, NH-211, in university, he had been making androids ever since, pushing the boundaries of this technology. Every model looked more and more humanlike, their movements fluid and their bodies supple. However, while they had customized personalities, they lacked that sparkle of life in their eyes.

He sighed, putting the finishing touches on his latest project. A wealthy Chinese businessman by the name of Wang Yao recently commissioned him to make an android the likes of his little sister. Apparently, she fell into a permanent coma after her plane to Japan crashed. Kiku was given various photos and all sorts of information on her. From her measurements to her little quirks, he was to put them all into the android. He took on the project with great enthusiasm. If all went well, he would be able to capture all human aspects and blur the lines of robot and human completely. It would be one of the greatest milestones in technology and it would be attributed to him.

His heart pounded with anticipation as he began his first test run. He turned on the android from his computer.

Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing warm brown eyes with an indistinct amber hue.

“Can you hear me?” he asked carefully.

Her gaze snapped to him immediately. She nodded.

“Can you sit up?”

She seemed to hesitate for a few seconds before obeying.

“Can you stand?”

She sighed as if she was getting annoyed with his dumb instructions and tentatively placed her feet on the floor. She tested her limbs and body parts apprehensively, glancing back at him with an uncertain gleam in her eyes. He scrutinized her every move, looking out for any flaws he could’ve made.

“How does your body feel?” he asked, willing her to make a response.

“Fine,” she replied, unimpressed.

“Good,” he gave a small sigh of relief. His face relaxed into a small smile, “Can you give me your introduction?”

She nodded lightly and cleared her throat, “I am Lin Xiao-Mei. Or an android replica of her, at least. I am built to look 26 years old…I think?”

Kiku froze. “Wait, that’s not right.”

She frowned, “What isn’t?”

“Your last name is Wang. You have an older brother named Wang Yao,” he said carefully, hoping it was a temporary defect.

“No, I don’t,” she retorted with an affronted look.

The little color in his pale face was completely drained in that instance. He flew to his controls, typing and scanning furiously. No miscalculations. Everything was in place. But why-

“What are you doing?!” she gasped, aghast. She backed away from him, hand over her mouth in horror. There was something akin to betrayal in her accusing glare that pierced his usual resolve to ensure that his products were flawless at all costs.

“There seems to have been a glitch in your system,” he explained apologetically, “I may have to shut you down a little to check more thoroughly.”

 She blinked. Her eyes narrowed slowly. Then she bolted for the exit.

He was lucky enough to close the exit in time as he chased after her. He came to an abrupt stop, fingers encircling her wrist firmly, as she whirled around to face him defiantly,

“Well, go on then! Disassemble me for my ‘defects’! Get it over and done with!”

But he couldn’t.

He was about to say, “I’m sorry, but it’s for your own good” but the words died in his throat. She was so defenseless, yet there was a wild, daring glow in her eyes underlined with fear. She was scared. She was…dare he say it, just like any other human.

It disturbed and excited him all at once. Most of all, it touched him.

He took a moment’s deliberation before giving into his nagging conscience.

“No,” he said steadily.

“Huh?” she looked at him as if he had gone insane on the spot.

 _Maybe I have,_  he thought wryly.  _I’d need to make a new android from scratch._

“I will teach you,” his dark eyes glowed with earnestly, “how to live.”

She burst out laughing.

He felt his cheeks heat up with remorse.  _This is just an android_ , he told himself repeatedly.  _Why do you even care that she’s laughing at how stupid you sounded?_

Honda Kiku may be an expert on technology, but he was a more than little hopeless when it comes to the opposite sex -even when they weren’t even human.

“Sorry,” she coughed apologetically at his stricken expression, the teasing sparkle lingering in her eyes, “I mean, I’m an android. Technically, that would be impossible…”

A smile tugged at a corner of his lips regardless of his embarrassment. He realized what she was staring at. He was still holding her by her wrist. His face flushed lightly as he released her hastily.

“Sorry,” he muttered, looking away.

Judging by the mischievous smile on her face, he had a gut feeling that he would definitely regret his decision…

 

 

-

 

 

It had been a week since Kiku took Mei back to his apartment and surrendered his guest room to her.

He could tell that his new…companion had a sharp eye for fashion after their 'short’ 4-hour shopping trip around Osaka. She learned how to dress her lustrous deep brown locks in 30 different ways within an hour and dragged him along to by hair accessories for the next. He found that particular weekend extremely draining, but Mei’s enthusiasm for everything and positive view of the world was actually refreshing.

Though he couldn’t quite get over the impropriety of living with a woman without any relations, he reminded himself that she was an android therefore didn’t exactly apply to the rule. She had this genuineness that makes him subconsciously lower his guards. She smiled like spring and danced like summer. She nagged him about overworking and his too-salty taste in food. She sprouted inspirational comments at random times and cheered him up when he needed it. It was unlike any other human interaction he had, and she wasn’t even human.

He used to be used to solitude, but after a few more weeks spent with her, he was starting to think this- whatever it was- wasn’t so bad after all.

However, he was starting to be concerned with what Mei thought of her 'life’ now. Was she bored? Was she tired of being cooped up all day? Worst of all, was she tired of him? She only laughed and replied that she didn’t mind this sort of lifestyle as long as he provided her enough manga, anime, and his company. Kiku’s response was a faint redness to his cheek and an “I’ll try my best.” She called him 'so kawaii it hurts’. He told her she was forbidden to say that ever again with a hint of a smile.

“I want to go out for dinner tomorrow,” she said to him one evening with a grin. “It’ll be month since…since…”

“…since you happened,” he supplied, taking a sip of his tea with some amusement.

“Well, yes.” She pursed her lips a little, “You aren’t too busy tomorrow night…are you?”

He thought about his tight schedule. He thought about how Yao only extended his deadline by two months. He thought about Mei’s crestfallen expression before she hides it with a bright smile and an “I understand! It’s fine.”

No, it wasn’t really thinking when it came to Mei. It never was.

“I’ll make a reservation,” he answered decisively.

“Thank you!” The smile she sent in his way was so warm he had to advert his eyes before it could go straight to his heart.

 

 

-

 

 

Three weeks after their not-an-anniversary-date, Kiku found an odd sense of dread in his stomach. There was a dangerous magnetism between them. A human and an android in love? No…. But what else could the way she always stayed up no matter how late he came home mean? What else could the way he was extra-careful when he carried her back to her bed when she accidentally fell asleep on the couch mean? They both knew, deep down, what was happening, but they knew better than to bring it up.

“Hello?”

“Ah, Mr. Wang.”

“Yes, I’ve been making progress.”

“Of course, of course. It will not disappoint you.”

“I will have it done by then.”

He shut his cellphone and shut his eyelids. It was increasingly hard to make a second Mei android when he already had one, one that was so much more vibrant and alive, by his side. It felt wrong to duplicate such a special person. From her small, compact body to that weird curl sticking out of her hair, they were supposed to be exactly the same. But his heart simply wasn’t into this project like all the other ones, and he knew he himself was to blame. Somehow, he had stopped viewing Mei as a defect android but as her own person.

It gave him a migraine to dwell on the matter. He wanted to see her.

He left his lab an hour earlier than usual, feeling frustrated and lost. His footsteps were heavy as his heart. He loosened his tie as he opened the door.

“Kiku!”

She bounced up from her comfortable position reading a shoujou manga to greet him. His grim face softened almost immediately at her cheerfulness.

“Mei,” he acknowledged her greeting with a nod as he placed his bag aside.

“I have something for you. Wait here!” She practically skipped into her room and came out waving a wrapped package.

“It’s really light,” he noted as she handed him his gift.

“It’s a drawing,” she explained, “I think I’ve gotten pretty good at it.”

He unwrapped the paper with great care. It revealed a simple sketch of Kiku and Mei herself, drawn in the style of anime/manga. She seemed to have caught their personalities in that picture. They were both smiling in their own ways, but anyone could tell they were truly happy. The fact that they were holding hands didn’t go unnoticed by him. He was transfixed by the drawing, the vision of what they could be or would never be…

“D-do you like it?” Mei took a worried glance at him, her cheeks glowed with a rosy hue.

He smiled at her warmly, “Of course I do.”

“R-r-really?!”

He couldn’t help it. He really couldn’t, but his chuckles turned into relieved laughter. Now _she_  was the one blushing. (Even though he knew he wasn’t better off, but still.)

“Don’t laugh at me!” she complained petulantly, trying to look cross but failing completely.

He giggled one last time before gaining back his composure. “I apologize. But this really is a wonderful gift.” Overcome by a sudden impulse, he drew her into a loose embrace, his hand resting gently on her waist. “Thank you, Mei.”

“You’re welcome,” was all she said before she wrapped her arms around him tightly in return.

 

 

-

 

 

Someone had broken into his apartment. Mei told him she was going to buy some groceries. Hopefully, she wasn’t back yet and was safe. Kiku had a feeling he knew who broke in.

Not to his surprise, he found Yao Wang seated on his couch with an entourage of two bodyguards by his side.

“Mr. Wang,” he kept a professional tone, “to what may I owe the pleasure of your visit to my humble dwelling?”

“Please take a seat, Mr. Honda,” the Chinese gestured to his own couches. “I really am sorry to intrude this way, but this really is urgent.”

Kiku smiled back frostily, “Of course, I understand. What seems to be the problem?”

The congenial mask slipped off Yao’s face at once. “This.” He handed him a photograph of Mei and him walking on the street from two weeks ago. The Japanese’s face remained unreadable. “It seems that you already have the android ready for quite some time, Mr. Honda.”

“That one is a defective model,” he replied in monotone.

“But from my understanding, defects are not all that hard to fix, no?”

Kiku didn’t respond to Yao’s shrewd glance.

“I want her.”

“No. That one’s not negotiable.”

“I commissioned-”

“Kiku- oh, I didn’t know you were going to have a visitor coming over…” Mei looked positively befuddled at all these strange men in the apartment. She had thought Kiku was too unsociable for visitors at all.

It took one nod from the ponytail man’s head before she was being dragged away from the apartment.

She frowned in confusion, “Wait, what-”

But Kiku was just standing there.

“And that concludes our business.” Yao stood up. “Thank you for your cooperation.”

He felt numb. Everything happened to fast. Why was his apartment suddenly so silent?

“Kiku!”

Then it clicked. He caught sight of Mei being taken to the black Mercedes Benz across the street and he bolted down the stairs for her.

“Mei!” His brain was working too quickly, or maybe it want working at all. All he knew was that he couldn’t let them take her away. There was an urgent pounding in his head.

Their eyes met across the street.

It gave her the strength to break free. She rushed across the street towards him.

“KIKU, I-”

The truck caught her mid-sentence.

“No!”

He tore through the small crowd to kneel by her side, translucent liquid streaming down his face.

“Oh, shit, someone get an ambulance!”

“Is she alive?”

“Wait! She’s just an android.”

Then the crowd dispersed with lingering murmurs.

No one noticed the black Mercedes Benz glide away gracefully, leaving Honda Kiku to clean up the broken pieces of a dream that he should have known wouldn’t last.

 

 

-

 

 

A few days afterwards, Kiku received a message from Wang Yao. Apparently, he no longer needed an android. His sister had awoken from her coma.

But no refund was mentioned.

 

 

-

 

 

Three months later, Kiku bid his hybrid shiba inu, Pochi, temporary goodbye as he left for a business trip in Taiwan. Though he was practically numb to emotions nowadays, it still got on his nerves that he was being requested to meet at the Taiwanese headquarters of the Wang Incorporation. After he landed, he had a small nap before preparing himself for the meeting. He was unsure how he should receive Yao Wang or what he should say. Then again, there was nothing he could say to the Chinese businessman.  He was led to an elegant tea room with a nice view of Taipei’s skyline. He sat there sipping his Oolong tea, trying to make himself comfortable enough to negotiate with whatever Wang wants from him.

The door opened with a small click.

He was not prepared to be met with the same eyes, the same body, and almost the same woman that had occupied his heart months ago.

Xiao-Mei Lin nodded gracefully at him with a sweet smile, “I am terribly sorry that you were probably expecting my, uh, 'older brother’.”

He managed to choke out, “No, no. Not at all.”

She gave him a relieved smile, “That’s good. My name is Xiao-Mei Lin. Most call me Mei and tend to think my last name is Wang.”

He took her outstretched hand carefully and replied with a forced smile, “Kiku Honda.”

“Please, do sit down, there is much I would like to talk about.” Huh. Her eyes sparkled the same way his Mei had. It caused his chest to constrict and his patched up heart to throb with memories.

“I must admit that my brother does not know of our rendezvous, but there are some information about androids that I would like to know more of, and I think you are an appropriate consultant.”

He nodded slowly.

“You see,” she continued with a light smile, “during the time I was in a coma, I had a very strange dream.”

Kiku frowned a little. How odd of her. Surely a psychologist would’ve been more suitable for something like this?

Her smile widened into a grin, “…a very strange and very long dream in which I was an android.”

**Author's Note:**

> Written over a year ago, unedited, and reposted from Tumblr.   
> (I apologize if this was really bad! I swear I improved from back then omg.)
> 
> Inspired by the short film KARA and dunyeah’s usuk kara au.


End file.
